The Best New Year Plan is to follow the Seerah
A year has passed from our life and tomorrow might be Tomorrow – the Last Hour.
یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلۡتَنظُرۡ نَفۡسࣱ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ لِغَدࣲۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِیرُۢ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ
O you who believe , be mindful of Allah, and let every soul look what it has put forth for tomorrow, and be mindful of Allah; indeed, Allah is All-Aware of what you do. (Al-Ḥashr, Ayah 18.)
لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِی رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةࣱ لِّمَن كَانَ یَرۡجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡیَوۡمَ ٱلۡـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِیرࣰا
Most surely, there has always been an excellent role model for you in the Messenger of Allah (and) for anyone who has been putting hope in Allah and expecting the Last Day, and has remembered Allah frequently. (Al-Aḥzāb, Ayah 21.)
عن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «بُعِثتُ أنا والسّاعةُ كهاتين» وأشار بالسبّابة والوسطى.
“I and the Hour have been sent like these two,” and he gestured with his index and middle fingers. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet ﷺ said “I have been sent with the Hour”, meaning that his message is the closest to Al Qiyama, the Day of Resurrection, out of all the prophets and messengers. This a reminder that we have to be prepared. It is a fact that no one can escape death, regardless whether one believes or not. Each year, there is a flurry of resolution writing, but after ticking the box for a few days, most give up or forget. Allah is teaching us to how to make a genuine new year’s resolution – be prepared. He started by calling us, as His special people, with a very kind call, “Ya Ayyuhal ladhena amanu”. ‘Ya’ is harf nidda in Arabic, meaning ‘O’. Allah is calling upon us, the believers. There are different calls in the Quran, “ya ayuhal nas” (O mankind) is different call from “Ya Ayyuhal ladhena amanu” (O you who believe), and “ya ibadi” (O my servants). Each call has its own dimension and sweetness. Here Allah is calling the close group to Him, who selected belief. It is choice, but Allah chooses those who are trustful and honest. The quality of believers. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said whenever you hear “Ya Ayyuhal ladhena amanu” be attentive because it is followed by the command or prohibition.
Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:
“When you hear Allah say, ‘O you who believe,’ then listen attentively, for it is either a good that you are being commanded to do, or an evil that you are being forbidden from.” (Darimi)
What should be our response? If your mother or father calls you, you should say, “at your service”. When it comes to Allah, it is beyond that, you should say, “Labbayk!” because he is calling upon us. When the Prophet ﷺ called his companions, they would say “We are ready to sacrifice our parents for you, Rasul Allah.” This is the way they responded, and this is why they were elevated, not because of their colour or race, but because of their actions and sincerity. Allah is calling us, our hearts should therefore say “Labbayka ya Allah! We are listening. Itaqullah (have taqwa) means ‘be obedient’ to Allah, because the definition of taqwa is do what He has commanded and refrain from what He has prohibited. The motto of our Ummah is “samina wa attana” (we hear and we obey). Previous nations would say we hear and we disobey. But our ummah is an ummah of obedience (ta’a).
The hearts of believers are longing to hear the call of Allah. As Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did call for Hajj and this call reached every believer. Similarly, the call of Allah reaches every heart that believes in Him.
The first command is obedience, and it is a comprehensive command, and the second command is “Let every soul look forward at what it has prepared for Tomorrow”. This means we have to plan for the akhirah, not just for major events like weddings, or trips or holiday. We plan for everything but Tomorrow. It could be round the corner. Don’t say “I am still young” because you don’t know when your time will be up. People were among us yesterday, but today they are gone. Allah is reminding us because He loves us and wants us to be among those who are in Jannah. Just as we love our children and keep telling them to do the right thing, but when they are older, we leave them to their choices. Allah loves us more than our parents love us. He is telling us to plan for tomorrow. The best plan for tomorrow is to use a special navigation app, the seerah app. The Prophet ﷺ is the best role model to follow. How did he plan for tomorrow? He was the best ever planner. Open the seerah and see how he planned for it. If you are a business man, check how he conducted his business by preparing for tomorrow, being honest and kind and trustworthy. How did He plan for tomorrow as a husband. What did his wives say about his kindness? He used to help with the chores, he consulted them and he was the best to them. How was he as a leader? He trained the youngsters and gave them some tasks to do, preparing them for tomorrow. So we need to check where we are in our plans.
Whether you are a teacher, he was the best teacher, whether you are a migrant, the Prophet ﷺ was a migrant, whether you are an employee or boss, you can get the preparation for tomorrow from the Prophet ﷺ. The simple task we should be doing is checking how to follow his guidance and how we can learn from his character. Learn more about him, not just singing nasheeds in Rabbi al Awwal. The real love is in action, the real preparation is in action not emotion. We need to navigate our way with the seerah and copy how he lived his life because has told us he is the infallible role model. Any role model is fallible except him. Let’s connect our lives to the seerah, and revive his sunnah among our friends and family. In doing so we navigate our way to the akhirah. The seerah is the roadmap to the akhirah and how to navigate our trials so we reach our destination safely. This needs some effort and dedication.
There are plenty of good seerah books you can read with your family and take notes that are relevant to your life. He was the best of creation. It is ibadah to read his biography and to follow his footsteps and our salvation, to be saved in the akhirah. He is Rahma lil Alameen, a mercy for all the worlds. Emulate his traits and incorporate them consciously into your week, and improving these in your daily interactions. Be kinder to your spouse and employees. Be honest.
We ask Allah to make us more connected to the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 2nd January 2025